We were so blessed to serve with Joey and Katie Hale! Their leadership was so great, and they created an atmosphere of fun and laughter! Our team was wonderful. The Lord was so faithful to provide unity, friendship, servant attitudes and joy! We had so much fun getting to know everyone and loved having meaningful conversations, working alongside one another, and making fun memories!
Most of all, the Lord worked in the hearts and minds of everyone on the trip. Our God is at work everywhere! He is not limited to time, space, location or even our obedience. It astounds me that He is ALWAYS faithful even when I am not.
In Honduras, we lived intentionally for Christ and in community with one another. Since the children were out of school for La Semana Santa (Holy Week) our schedule was very flexible. It is amazing how much time is truly in a day when all the distractions of our busy lives are taken away. Although there was wireless internet access in the team house (except for when we lost power for a day!), we encouraged the team not to even turn on their phones and I know it brought us closer!
This mission trip to Emmanuel is not what would typically come to mind when you talk about "going to an orphanage in a third world country". Orphanage Emmanuel is definitely the exception in a broken world full of children hungry for food and starving for love and affection. God has been at work at Emmanuel for a long time!
We flew into Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras, and saw people living in homes built of every material imaginable. People, dogs and trash were everywhere. It is definitely a third world country. This photo was our last glimpse of the city as our bus headed into the mountains towards the orphanage.
Emmanuel is located in the town of Guaimaca, and our bus barely fit through the narrow dirt streets. We turned into the front gate and suddenly, there were beautiful brick buildings and immaculate landscaping. The photo is of the front of the office and the chapel.
Last year, we learned that everything at the orphanage has been given to them, whether through the labor of volunteers or through monetary gifts. David, who started Emmanuel with his wife Lydia, told us that the reason he keeps everything so clean and immaculate is to display good stewardship. He also said that as believers, we are told to look different from the world so that the world will look at us and wonder what we have that they don't. The answer, of course, is our hope that we have through our Savior Jesus Christ. The stark physical difference between the rest of Honduras and Orphanage Emmanuel is merely a representation of the difference people should see in our lives as believers. That is very convicting to me.
The above photo is the team house we called home for that week. It was nicer than many retreat centers I've been to here in the U.S.! We had foam mattresses, three delicious meals a day, two patios, clean water, indoor plumbing and a meeting room. We were so blessed!
As we kept observing life at Emmanuel, we realized that in addition to the beautiful campus and accommodations, the 600 children all had clean clothes, shoes, three square meals a day, workers who love the Lord and teach them about Jesus, and access to a great school! As volunteers, it was difficult to imagine how we could truly serve when the children's physical needs were taken care of. This is when it became evident that simply being willing to do whatever the staff asked of us was such a huge help to them. Also, we needed to just love them like Jesus. One of our team members reported at GO Trip chapel that the children easily told us "I love you!" and we found ourselves saying it back without hesitation. How often do I tell those around me that I love them without reservation?
Colossians 3:23 says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men..." This rang true in my heart as we painted pavilions, hiked with the toddlers (up a mountain- those kids are so intense!!), did slip n slides with the kids, fellowshipped with the staff, made puppets with the power (not paddle) toddlers, and spent time with each other. It wasn't until I had been back in the states for a few days until I realized that the Lord was showing me how I can live for him in every decision, conversation and action in my every day life as well as in Honduras. It has been such a challenge!
Every evening, we invited someone on staff and their families to join us for dinner and share their testimonies with our team. Each time we heard story after story of how God has provided for each need the workers had, many of them that they had not shared with anyone.
Austin and I walked away from those testimonies reminded of how God loves to pour out blessings on us and is not limited by worldly things such as money. We were challenged to pray more boldly, more specifically, and wait on the Lord more expectantly. We have really tried to implement this since we've been back.
On Wednesday night at church Austin preached! He did such a good job! He taught on Exodus 16. We began by reading the scripture (in Spanish and English) and Austin drew the parallel of God providing the perfect amount of manna each day for the Israelites to Jesus being our daily bread. His sermon further reinforced that God is always faithful to provide, even when we are not faithful to Him.
Then there were the children. Beautiful children. Children who had no reason to be joyful because of what they had experienced in their short lives. The way they worshipped, the love they have for Jesus and how their faces light up when they see you coming was such a picture of what it means to be a child of God!
Here are a few of the children that especially touched our hearts. For the sake of the children's privacy, I decided not to post their pictures with their stories. Some of them have very difficult custody situations. If you look at my facebook album, though, you can put faces with names :-)
Jose is 11 years old and was in a wheelchair when we were there. He had surgery on his feet, so he couldn't play with the other boys. During the morning, Amy (one of the wonderful volunteers who is in charge of Jose) would take him to the Toddler House. Some of our guys met him there when they were instructed to take apart the trampoline. Jose was such a helper! After that, Amy and Jose would find our group at the store every afternoon. Austin, Michael and Tommy really built a relationship with him and he cried and cried when we had to leave. However, the day after we left (also Easter Sunday), we found out that he accepted Jesus as his Savior! It was such a wonderful way to end the trip, knowing that even if we don't get to go back to Honduras, we will see Jose in eternity!!!
Nicole really tugged at my heart! She is probably 14 or 15 but has the mental capacity of a 4 year old. She has such joy! She was amused at the most simple things, such as blowing little pieces of cotton out of our hands and into the wind, or throwing her doll up in the air and laughing as she would scramble to catch it. She reminded me that God adores his children and wants us to delight in him. I can't imagine where Nicole would be if the Lord hadn't brought her to Emmanuel.
It has been difficult to know what to write in this post, as there is still so much more I could say. There were so many funny stories, friendships formed, inside jokes, large insects, and other things like that. I will look back on those memories years from now and smile. Ultimately, the trip belonged to the Lord and I am so thankful that Austin and I got to be a part of it. Thank you to our team! Y'all are so wonderful!
Colossians 3:23 says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men..." This rang true in my heart as we painted pavilions, hiked with the toddlers (up a mountain- those kids are so intense!!), did slip n slides with the kids, fellowshipped with the staff, made puppets with the power (not paddle) toddlers, and spent time with each other. It wasn't until I had been back in the states for a few days until I realized that the Lord was showing me how I can live for him in every decision, conversation and action in my every day life as well as in Honduras. It has been such a challenge!
Every evening, we invited someone on staff and their families to join us for dinner and share their testimonies with our team. Each time we heard story after story of how God has provided for each need the workers had, many of them that they had not shared with anyone.
Austin and I walked away from those testimonies reminded of how God loves to pour out blessings on us and is not limited by worldly things such as money. We were challenged to pray more boldly, more specifically, and wait on the Lord more expectantly. We have really tried to implement this since we've been back.
On Wednesday night at church Austin preached! He did such a good job! He taught on Exodus 16. We began by reading the scripture (in Spanish and English) and Austin drew the parallel of God providing the perfect amount of manna each day for the Israelites to Jesus being our daily bread. His sermon further reinforced that God is always faithful to provide, even when we are not faithful to Him.
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| Austin preaching! |
Here are a few of the children that especially touched our hearts. For the sake of the children's privacy, I decided not to post their pictures with their stories. Some of them have very difficult custody situations. If you look at my facebook album, though, you can put faces with names :-)
Jose is 11 years old and was in a wheelchair when we were there. He had surgery on his feet, so he couldn't play with the other boys. During the morning, Amy (one of the wonderful volunteers who is in charge of Jose) would take him to the Toddler House. Some of our guys met him there when they were instructed to take apart the trampoline. Jose was such a helper! After that, Amy and Jose would find our group at the store every afternoon. Austin, Michael and Tommy really built a relationship with him and he cried and cried when we had to leave. However, the day after we left (also Easter Sunday), we found out that he accepted Jesus as his Savior! It was such a wonderful way to end the trip, knowing that even if we don't get to go back to Honduras, we will see Jose in eternity!!!
Nicole really tugged at my heart! She is probably 14 or 15 but has the mental capacity of a 4 year old. She has such joy! She was amused at the most simple things, such as blowing little pieces of cotton out of our hands and into the wind, or throwing her doll up in the air and laughing as she would scramble to catch it. She reminded me that God adores his children and wants us to delight in him. I can't imagine where Nicole would be if the Lord hadn't brought her to Emmanuel.
It has been difficult to know what to write in this post, as there is still so much more I could say. There were so many funny stories, friendships formed, inside jokes, large insects, and other things like that. I will look back on those memories years from now and smile. Ultimately, the trip belonged to the Lord and I am so thankful that Austin and I got to be a part of it. Thank you to our team! Y'all are so wonderful!
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